Tag Archives: Nathan Dunlap

Last week, we saw quite starkly the pain Gov. John Hickenlooper’s wishy-washy, mealy-mouthed ways have caused. For 13 long, heavy minutes we see Dennis O’Connor, father of Colleen O’Connor, share with us the grief he has known and experienced every day since Nathan Dunlap executed his daughter over 20 years ago.

Now, others involved in the Dunlap case are coming forward as well, all to say Hick has let Colorado down when it comes to this matter. In The Durango Herald, reporter Peter Marcus writes about a juror and a prosecutor stepping forward to call Hick out:

Enter [Steve] Cohen, who said the moral and judicial components of weighing a man’s life have rested heavily on his soul for 18 years. When he heard the governor was going to possibly grant a reprieve, or even clemency, Cohen wrote to Hickenlooper, pleading with him to bring closure by signing the order for death by lethal injection.

In a recent interview with The Durango Herald, Cohen said he is still enraged and perplexed by what he calls an “inaction” by Hickenlooper.

“This guy has single-handedly ruined the judicial system as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t think he has the right,” Cohen said of Hickenlooper. “He wasn’t there to begin with.” [the Peak’s emphasis]

Lost in the larger story of Hick’s punting on the Dunlap decision, is Hick’s complete disregard (and, frankly, open condescension) for the 12 opinions of those who sat on the jury. Nearly 20 years ago, while Hick was spending yet another day, month, year drinking it up at Wynkoop, 12 average Coloradans, who were thrust into one of the most difficult situations, agonized day and night trying to come to understand in a very real sense what does justice mean, and what does it demand of us. Through those numberless hours of soul-searching, those 12 brave citizens decided the only appropriate justice for Dunlap was death. By no means can anyone assume this heaviest of decisions came to them easily. Yet, 20 years of beers later, Hick disregards them completely and substitutes Roxane White’s his own opinion over all 12 of theirs.

If that example of arrogance wasn’t enough, Hick’s actions on Dunlap seem to completely dismiss the hard work and harder judgment the prosecutor of the case, Eva Wilson, exercised in pursuing the death penalty. As she told The Herald:

…Hickenlooper has ignored the cries of the majority of victims’ families and diminished the exhausting work by jurors and prosecutors.

“It’s not a case of innocence. It’s not a case of anything else other than absolute guilt, and yet he decided to throw his hands up in the air and say, ‘Gee, I just don’t know,’” Wilson said. “I don’t think anyone gets to do that.” [the Peak’s emphasis]

Colorado deserves a leader who is more concerned about making the tough decisions than protecting his own self-made “brand.”

If there was any question remaining about whether Gov. John Hickenlooper was indecisive, the answer was abundantly clear at tonight’s Denver Post debate. At times, the embattled Governor seemed not only to debate opponent Bob Beauprez, but also himself. This internal debate caused Hick to come off as rambling and incoherent at times and unsure of his footing (metaphorically, of course) at other times.

In contrast, Beauprez seemed relaxed and sure of himself and his answers. He handled the tough questions adroitly. On a controversial topic, he noted that he may not share the same views as other Coloradans, but that he respects their views and will govern with respect. It doesn’t get much better than that.

But, perhaps the best summation of Beauprez’s performance tonight came from the Dowager Countess of Colorado Politics Lynn Bartels, who tweeted the following:

Indeed not. Even on a seemingly esoteric issue like transportation funding, Beauprez seemed to be schooling the guy who is supposed to be in charge (that’s you, Gov). Additionally, Hick flailed on questions about his decision to grant a reprieve for convicted killer Nathan Dunlap when he said that some of the families of Dunlap’s victims backed his decision. It’s unclear whether he actually spoke to the Crowell family, whose daughter/sister, Sylvia, was brutally killed by Dunlap. The Crowell family is not pleased with Hick’s decision. And, on guns, Hick said he didn’t regret his decision to sign into law one of the most extreme gun grabs in the country, which drew criticism from a violent crime survivor, Kimberly Weeks, on Twitter:

That Gov. John Hickenlooper has failed in his leadership role as Governor of Colorado is not so much for a lack of trying, but rather a mismatch of his talents to the demands of the office; or, so The Washington Post alludes to in their opening paragraph:

If there is a ribbon to cut anywhere in the state of Colorado, whether on a refurbished park or a new bridge or a new school, chances are good that Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) will be there. Democrats and Republicans alike in this swing state say he acts like a mayor as much as a governor, showing up at every opportunity to congratulate a town or city on their latest project. After two terms leading Denver, he knows how to be a mayor. [the Peak’s emphasis]

The unsaid, logical flipside to those last few words— “he knows how to be a mayor” – is that Hick doesn’t know how to be a Governor. Hick wouldn’t be the first person promoted to a job just a level too high for what their natural abilities can cover. How could he know that presiding over a deeply Democratic city like Denver wouldn’t translate to the far corners of a state half the size of France? Perhaps he didn’t even own a map.

Now, like a man destined for a career in the minor leagues who shouldn’t get called up to the majors, Hickenlooper’s attempt to swing above his weight only results in many unforced errors:

[A]llies and opponents alike say, a series of missteps and bouts of seeming indecision have sent Hickenlooper’s approval and favorability ratings plummeting

Colorado political experts, including several close to the governor himself, say the issue has been Hickenlooper’s difficulty showing decisive leadership, especially on a few high-profile issues. [the Peak’s emphasis]

Among the many issues the not-ready-for-primetime Governor failed to lead on were the Dunlap decision, the debacle he made of the gun laws, and a refusal by him to reign in an out-of-control, extremely liberal legislature in 2013, where, despite being the most liberal legislature in Colorado history, Hickenlooper did not veto a single bill.

See, as Governor, the number one leader for all of Colorado, one is sometimes called upon to make the tough decisions, decisions where one must pick a winner and loser, decisions where splitting the difference is not an option. Hickenlooper has proved over the last four years, he will do everything in his power to avoid such a responsibility.

As Governor, Hickenlooper is more “pass the buck” than “the buck stops here.” Colorado can’t afford four more years of such ineffective leadership.

This post isn’t about immigration, it could be about any issue du jour, really. This is about a man who played fast and loose with laws, and partially due to his disregard, a family was irreparably damaged. In 2005, Governor John Hickenlooper owned a bar and restaurant called the Cherry Cricket. It’s a tradition in Denver. While there are conflicting reports about whether Hickenlooper actually put the restaurant into a “blind trust” as he claims, his business partner knew he had hired someone who wasn’t legally in this country. The federal government sent the company a letter saying that the Cherry Cricket had an employee who had provided false documents. Hickenlooper’s business partner shrugged, it wasn’t his problem to enforce the law. Hickenlooper’s house wasn’t in order.

Hickenlooper also was mayor of Denver. As mayor of Denver, he willfully ignored federal immigration laws, metaphorically shrugging as if it wasn’t his problem because it was federal. His employee, with false documents, had been pulled over three times and because of the permissive atmosphere that Hickenlooper fostered, he was never asked whether he was allowed to be here.

Hickenlooper’s employee cowardly killed a decorated Marine, husband and father of two little girls by shooting him in the back. This was so unfair to this family. Hickenlooper had a responsibility to keep Denver residents safe and he failed. He failed as a business owner, and he failed as Denver’s leader. He sided with those who broke law over those who upheld it, just like he did with death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap.

Below is a timeline of the events around this terrible situation. Learn more about the people involved. Judge for yourself if Hickenlooper’s “the buck stops anywhere but here” approach is what Colorado needs in a leader.

Governor John Hickenlooper is set to announce the task force that was created in the aftermath of Jared Polis’ fracking capitulation. The commission is to make recommendations to the Governor and the State Legislature on how Colorado’s oil and gas rules, already the toughest in the nation, can be made even more onerous.

Two weeks ago, Hick made headlines when he appointed a fire-breathing, anti-fracking activist, Gwen Lachelt, who founded a radical environmentalist group Earthworks, to co-chair the panel. Lachelt made her own waves when she donned her Jared Polis hat, and threatened a ballot initiative if the task force and the legislature didn’t come up with more restrictions on energy production, which isn’t surprising given what she said about Josh Fox’s film “Gasland”:

“I loved watching Josh Fox’s (Gasland filmmaker) presentation on You Tube last week at the New York hearing on hydraulic fracturing. I was cheering him on from my desk in Durango, Colorado, as he challenged the notion that oil and gas regulation is an answer to the impacts caused by reckless oil and gas development across the United States. In my 23 years working with communities directly affected by oil and gas development, those fossil fuels have never been developed without impacts to our land, air, and water. Not surprising: they are inherently dirty energy sources when it comes to extraction and production, and the industry always puts profit before protection.”

Today, the plot thickens.

Sources tell us Hickenlooper’s commission, which will be announced sometime this week, is numerically bloated with appointees who view oil and gas as the enemy.

For example, another source told us that famed fractivist Matt Sura was on the inside track to be appointed to the commission as some sort of a “neutral” expert.

Sura became the flash point of controversy when Brighton hired him as a “neutral” expert to guide the development of local regulations. Surprise, surprise – Sura wasn’t so neutral and WWIII broke out when Sura convinced Brighton to ban fracking for months. Brighton later lifted the ban when the local business community went up in arms.

From the Colorado Observer at the time:

“An environmental activist and fracking opponent was hired by the City of Brighton to help draft new regulations for local oil and gas development, prompting concerns from a key lawmaker that the input would taint the process or lead to a permanent ban.

Matt Sura, an environmental lawyer and former director of the Western Colorado Congress, has spoken at anti-fracking events and was reportedly involved in efforts opposing hydraulic fracturing operations in Weld County, the largest producer of oil and gas in the state with 15,000 wells.

Minority Whip and state Rep. Kevin Priola (R-Henderson) said he is concerned about the economic effects in Brighton if the final recommendation is a long-term moratorium on energy development, and expressed particular unease “the city has retained Sura, who has a track record of doing this.”

In an interview with The Colorado Observer, Priola said his concern is that Brighton will follow a pattern similar to what occurred in Boulder, where the city council approved a one-year moratorium in June to block oil and gas drilling permits there, while Boulder voters approved a ballot measure in November to institute a five-year ban.

“There are three to four thousand employees that live and work in Brighton — Halliburton made a large commitment and has an operation there — and it’s just really concerning to me as a native of Brighton, that the Brighton City Council appears to be mirroring what the City of Boulder has done,” Priola said.

“This is concerning as Mr. Sura has either worked with, or been closely associated publicly with extreme environmental groups such as Frack Free Colorado, Frack Free Boulder, Protect our Loveland and Citizens for Clean Air,” Priola said in the letter.

Whether or not Sura makes the final cut is still an open question. Others in consideration include: Anthony Ingraffea, who helped Gwen Lachelt start her radical activist group EarthWorks and who starred in the documentary propaganda film “Gasland” and Jim Ramey, executive director of Citizens for a Healthy Community, who has pledged to ban fracking. as reported by Energy in Depth.

Regardless, multiple sources tell us that their nose count of people likely to be appointed by Hickenlooper to the commission are either adversarial to the industry, or are not likely to balk at a mountain of new regulations.

If Hick manages to escape re-election, will he roll over on the oil and gas industry the way he turned on the families of those killed by Nathan Dunlap?

Is anyone surprised that Hickenlooper is trying to have it both ways – drinking fracking fluid while trying to make nice with those who want to ban it?

Gov. John Hickenlooper has made a political career out of being being too cute by half. The Republican Governor’s Association is about to show him voters don’t really appreciate glib answers to serious problems. While Hickenlooper just released one of his trademark quirky ads in response to a previous RGA ad, the rest of Colorado has already moved on to another issue Hickenlooper has failed to lead on.

Joey Bunch over at The Denver Postwrites about how Hickenlooper’s introduction of politics into the death penalty sentence of cold-blooded murderer Nathan Dunlap could hurt him this fall:

When he ran for governor four years ago, Hickenlooper was vocal about being pro-capital punishment. His decision-making around the issue in 2013 has left some in his own party, and nearly everyone who opposes him, questioning his rationale…

“This was made political by John Hickenlooper,” said George Brauchler, the Republican district attorney whose office is trying Holmes and who supports capital punishment.

“Remember what he did. He said to the state of Colorado: I’m not going to act on the order from a jury, from a court…

By saying he might grant clemency if he loses, Hickenlooper didn’t portray himself as a thoughtful leader, the pollster [Floyd Ciruli] said.

“Speaking in a hypothetical about what if he loses, what he might do, that comes across as politically manipulative,” Ciruli said. [the Peak’s emphasis]

The RGA has seized upon this and has released a devastating attack ad against Hickenlooper. In it they show a local TV interview of one of the parents of a victim murdered by Dunlap calling Hick a coward. The ad highlights Hickenlooper’s inability to make tough decisions, and his unwillingness to let Coloradans know before the election whether or not he’ll grant Dunlap clemency should Hick lose his reelection.

Meanwhile, over in Hickenlooper’s ad, he’s playing pool by himself while important decisions about Colorado’s future go undecided. Our smarmy governor in his natural element.

We can’t imagine how difficult it would be to lose someone to violence the way the Crowell family did in the Chuck E. Cheese murders committed by Nathan Dunlap. Last night, murder victim Sylvia Crowell’s family told CBS4 that they believe that Gov. John Hickenlooper’s temporary reprieve was cowardly. From the interview:

“‘I think that’s the coward’s way out, and I view John Hickenlooper as a coward,’ said Bob Crowell, whose daughter Sylvia, 19, was among those killed in the Dec. 14, 1993, slaying of four employees at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.”

This comes on the heels of his daughter April Crowell’s commentary on the Peak‘s Facebook page earlier this summer when she said:

The problem with Hickenlooper’s non-decision is two-fold. First, the justice system spoke. It was fair. Dunlap killed those four people – that is not in question. He had a trial by jury and he was sentenced. He offered a half-assed apology letter, saying “even though it is difficult for me to say I’m sorry, I am sorry.” It’s difficult for Dunlap to say he’s sorry? He should be begging – we repeat begging – for forgiveness for the evil acts that he’s done. Nonetheless, why should Hickenlooper overrule the will of the people?

The next issue is that now Hickenlooper is attempting to silence critics of this cowardly decision by calling them out for playing politics with a man’s life. No, sir, that was you. As Sylvia Crowell’s father noted:

“Crowell chastised the governor for saying his opponents are playing ‘political football’ with the issue.

We just want to know – where was Sylvia Crowell’s temporary reprieve from Nathan Dunlap? Where was the mercy for her life?

Earlier this week, we joined others in calling for Hickenlooper to make a decision about Dunlap prior to the election. Coloradans deserve to know where this candidate stands. But, more importantly, we deserve to know that Hickenlooper stands for Colorado, not some shadowy liberal agenda.

Following up on yesterday’s news that Gov. John Hickenlooper is willing to commute ChuckECheese murderer Nathan Dunlap’s death sentence as a lame-duck governor should Hick lose his reelection, The Gazette points out in an editorial that Hick is the only one politicizing the situation. And, it is well within Hick’s power to take politics completely out of the situation. As The Gazettewrites:

Gov. John Hickenlooper should decide right away whether Nathan Dunlap lives or dies. No more should this man’s life be a political football…

No one has politicized Dunlap more than Hickenlooper. He wouldn’t grant clemency because doing so would annoy his base. He punted. Now, if Republicans want to make an issue of it, Hickenlooper will change his decision. He’ll reclaim the ball and forfeit the game, granting full clemency the moment he has no more chance of winning. [the Peak’s emphasis]

The Coward-in-Chief for Colorado claims he hasn’t changed his mind on the issue, that he still favors making no permanent decision on the issue rather than just having it settled once and for all. As his campaign spokesman said in a statement:

“He expressed his position on the clemency issue in May of 2013 when he signed the executive order on this matter, and his position has not changed since then,”

Yet, completely lacking in the position Hick expressed then was the revelation that he was 100% anti-death penalty, a position he has only acknowledged over the past few weeks. How can a man who claims to be 100% against the death penalty leave a man on death row given the fact that his successor as Governor has publically stated he will support the Colorado justice system’s decision in this endeavor when he wins? If Hick thinks the death penalty is so wrong, there is no way he will allow this sin of omission to burden his conscience the rest of his life. We agree with The Gazette when they say Hickenlooper needs to make a decision sooner rather than later:

Governor, you can’t be a leader who won’t make tough decisions. This attempt to have it both ways turns Dunlap and his victims into political sport. But this isn’t a game. If the governor wants clemency, he should grant it now – before the election. Voters deserve to know Dunlap’s fate before they determine the governor’s future. They deserve the truth. [the Peak’s emphasis]

Yet, waiting for Hickenlooper to show any type of strong leadership skills is like waiting for the Rockies to turn it around this season: it just ain’t going to happen.

What else is Gov. John Hickenlooper not telling Coloradans? Complete Colorado has exclusive audio of Hickenlooper once again telling a reporter in confidence something he has never revealed to the average Coloradan. This time Hickenlooper reveals that win or lose come November he’ll be granting Nathan Dunlap clemency. As Complete writes:

In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper suggested that if he does not win reelection, he could use his executive powers to overhaul Colorado’s death row with clemency…

Hickenlooper interrupts. ”And, you know, if that becomes a political issue, in that context within a campaign, um, obviously there’s a period of time between the election and, and the end of the year where individuals can make decisions, such as a governor can.” [the Peak’s emphasis]

As Kelly Maher over at Compass Colorado points out in a statement:

The irony, of course, is that the one person who made the execution of one of Colorado’s most vile killers a “political football” is Hickenlooper himself.

Much like President Obama and Sen. Mark Udall on the Keystone XL pipeline, it is Hick who has inserted politics into the death penalty here in Colorado. He has done this by choosing to ignore a decision made by a jury of average Coloradans, upheld on three separate occasions by Colorado’s Supreme Court. If it wasn’t for Hickenlooper inserting politics into the process by refusing to allow the execution to proceed or by exercising his right as Governor to commute the sentence, politics would never have come to bear here. Instead, Hickenlooper’s refusal to be a leader where he would take a stance or make a definite decision on Dunlap has left waters murky that definitely shouldn’t be.

Last week, Hickenlooper admitted he’s now anti-death penalty. Despite this admission, Hickenlooper has refused to commute Dunlap’s sentence yet. Is Hickenlooper not willing to stand by what he believes and let the Colorado voters’ decide accordingly? What kind of political posturing is that? It’s clear it is more important to Hickenlooper to be reelected than to be a strong, principled leader that Colorado deserves. The man who claims to not be your average politician, has proven he’s much more cynical and craven than your average politician; most of them have the decency at least to not hide from voters what they feel is clearly wrong. It’s apparent now the only thing Hickenlooper strongly believes in is the furthering of his own ambitions.

From hosting high-dollar fundraisers to mainstreaming liberal-ideology, Hollywood is all about doing favors for Democrats. However, a new CNN documentary series that rehashes the case of Nathan Dunlap and takes a critical view of the death penalty sounds like it is going to finally backfire on Hollywood lefties.

Nathan Dunlap mug shot

The series is produced by Robert Redford and narrated by Susan Sarandon, an outspoken critic of capital punishment. So, there is no chance that this series is “unbiased” in how it portrays use of the death penalty.

To be fair, if the documentary weren’t on CNN, we would expect that Redford and Sarandon might be successful in using Hollywood’s knack for story telling to change a few minds. However, no one watches CNN. That means the only parts of the CNN documentary that Colorado voters will end up seeing are the snippets that find their way into an ad attacking Gov. John Hickenlooper for letting Dunlap off the hook.

Let’s not forget that at the time of Dunlap’s crime it was the worst mass murder in Colorado history, and the killer was notably remorseless for taking the lives of four people. Those horrific details are what people remember, and that’s something Hollywood’s influence will never change.